Best Diving in Baja?

[RogerL.]

I'm curious what you thought of the sleeping arrangements while you were there. I had some friends that stayed there a couple of years ago and they had a problem with the mattress on their beds. In Mexico it is common for the mattress to be on a Block or cement "Box spring" or stand, I know it sounds weird but it works. Well in my friends room what they say had been done was to have the base but on top was what we know as a box spring. I guess one bed got the mattress and one got the box spring, he and his girl friend were stuck on the box spring bed. It took quite a bit of arguing to get it right. I'm not sure which part of Cantomar he said it was, as I remember there was some hotel rooms and some apartments I believe. In the end he said it all got straightened out but I'm curious as I might go back. When I was there we dove from there, in fact we stayed down town and they picked us up and we drove to the Cantomar for breakfast before we went out from there. I enjoyed eating there as well, did you eat outside in a little outdoor cafe style area? Roger

 

[widebody50]

Roger,

I guess we must have the mattress half of the arrangement. It was comfortable enough, for Mexico. The room was nice and clean. The hotel restaurant was good enough, though not outstanding. It's not meant to be a 5 star stay anyway. It's a dive resort. There is nothing else around to do, or even another real restaurant around, and town is miles away. It is the only hotel in that area. We did eat outside, which is adjacent to the dock area. It is serviced by the same kitchen as the restaurant. Good, but not great, food. We were on a package deal, so they had a small portion of the menu that was included in the package, but we could pay extra for anything else. See if they will make chilaquiles for you. Now THEY were excellent!

There is also a bar area outside, with a pool table and a pool. Kind of quaint. The whole place shut down around 10:00 pm. Like I said, mostly divers, not partiers.

The diving, I would say from a beginner's perspective, was very good. There was actually quite alot to see. Some small coral, many puffer fish (which on eguy in our group loved to harrass), many more morays than I had expected, and a variety of dives available (including a sea lion rookery). Some big fish were not around due to weather and time of year.

The dive op was good. They have quite a few boats, and can handle a butt-load of divers.

Overall, I would go back. I think it is MUCH cheaper than Cabo, but not much else to do but dive. Some people took a day off and went into town. There is a bus available to take you to town, or you can take a taxi.

You can check out some of our photos of the resort here:

http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=26670

 

[RogerL.]

I believe the hotel was called Los Arcos or something like that. It was right across the street from the bay, beautiful view. Nice hotel, I enjoy getting some of the culture and we ate at some very good restaraunts and one great fish taco cart. I'd probably stay there again, we probably dove with the same group as you, they came in vans to pick us up and we would arrive to eat breakfast in the same little eatery by the docks. The trip from the hotel to the Cantomar was not to bad I'd say 15 - 20 mins if I remember correctly. I do remember that the drivers were "loco" and it was the talk of the trip if we were going to get there in one piece, fun but scary. I agree with your assessment of the diving, I will say one thing though, I found the boats to be slow. In fact on our next to the last day there our bout lost an engine and it took us twice as long to return home. As if that wasn't bad enough, we had to take the same boat out the next day and as a result had to dive sites that were alot closer to home then I belive we would have if we would have had a sound boat. Like you said though as far as money spent it would be hard to equal the value that I felt I got there. Roger

 

[Cantamar]

Best diving in baja is definetly in La Paz, inside the sea of cortes, we operate a dive resort called club cantamar, check it out at www.clubcantamar.com , the great thing about La Paz is that we have over 25 different dive sites for all levels, shipwrecks, sea lions and maybe whale sharks can be found in june, however june is probably not the best month regarding water clarity and temperature.

Pedro

We are planning a trip to Baja in June. Can anyone tell us where to find the best diving? Cabo San Lucas, Cabo San Jose or somewhere in between? Thanks for your help.

 

[RP Diver]

Best diving in baja is definetly in La Paz, inside the sea of cortes, we operate a dive resort called club cantamar, check it out at www.clubcantamar.com , the great thing about La Paz is that we have over 25 different dive sites for all levels, shipwrecks, sea lions and maybe whale sharks can be found in june, however june is probably not the best month regarding water clarity and temperature.

Pedro

I was going to add this. I have been on the Don Jose liveaboard twice, once in October for incredible diving, and the most recent trip was in April 2002, for whale sharks. The visibility in April was bad because of all the plankton... maybe 20-25 feet, but we snorkeled with whale sharks on 5 different occasions ( what an experience!!), and saw an amazing variety of marine life. The October trip a couple of years earlier had great diving, with some amazing expeiences with sea lions at Los Islotes, hammerheads at Las Animas and El Bajo. June is kind of a tweener, neither one nor the other, and I really can't say what you might experience.

For my money, La Paz is the ultimate experience for diving with all sorts of marine life.

 

[vapor]

Hey, my wife and I are going to Cabo 1st week of June. We will be diving with Manta diving expeditions (http://www.caboscuba.com/index.html). We will be doing 2 days of diving, 1 day of local diving, and 1 day in Cabo Pulmo... we are doing trip "A-4". We are new divers, this is our first "real" dive after certification. Just thought I'd let you know you aren't the only ones headin' to Baja in June. ;-)



Vapor

 

[SoCalOffshore]

Best diving in baja is definetly in La Paz, inside the sea of cortes, we operate a dive resort called club cantamar, check it out at www.clubcantamar.com , the great thing about La Paz is that we have over 25 different dive sites for all levels, shipwrecks, sea lions and maybe whale sharks can be found in june, however june is probably not the best month regarding water clarity and temperature.

Pedro

So when is the best time of year for clarity and what is the air temp? I am not concerned about water temp as I dive So Cal waters with a 7 mm and just purchased a dry suit. I am more concerned about water clarity and air temp. Thanks. If you want to go to town for dinner, what are the options and cost?

 

[spn923]

Cabo Pulmo has the hard coral reef and it is an awesome series of dives. Takes a bit of getting to, but worth it.

i agree. cabo pulmo was great, a lot of fun (saw a hammerheard, couple of huge rays, lots of cool schooling fish). cabo san lucas was just okay, when compared to cabo pulmo.

 

[RP Diver]

So when is the best time of year for clarity and what is the air temp? I am not concerned about water temp as I dive So Cal waters with a 7 mm and just purchased a dry suit. I am more concerned about water clarity and air temp. Thanks. If you want to go to town for dinner, what are the options and cost?

I was in La Paz on my first trip in late October. Visibility was quite good, in the 60-80 foot range. We saw Hammerheads on 3 different dives, and at 2 different sites, but we were on a liveaboard, so we had a bit more range than the shore based outfits do. Water temps were no problem (used just a skin or 3 mil shorty for all dives), and I don't think the air ever gets cold in Baja Sur.

Spring time is for whale watching and whale shark encounters. The vis is bad for diving with all the plankton in the water.

 

[shellbird]

I will be staying in Cabo May 4 - 11. What is vis like? Water temps? What is the best way to get to La Paz? I am without dive buddy... will my non-diving friends be able to tag along for a boat ride? I am novice/intermediate diver. NAUI OW with 20 dives. What do you recommend?